‘Avengers: Endgame’ Has Already Smashed Its First Box Office Record With $60 Million Thursday

As if there were any doubt, Avengers: Endgame is already breaking box office records. Thursday night was the preview opener for the film, with Friday the official opening, which will kick off possibly the biggest box office weekend ever. Forbes is reporting Endgame brought in a whopping $60 million on Thursday in the United States, beating out record-holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens which held the record for several years with $57 million.

Endgame also surpassed fellow blockbusters Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Avengers: Infinity War which earned $45 million and $39 million, respectively. Naturally, this lands the team-up flick atop the MCU for Thursday box office numbers. Endgame has more than doubled the previous No. 2 (Avengers: Age of Ultron/$27.6 million) and No. 3 (Black Panther/$25.2 million) record holders in the MCU.

With a stellar Thursday under its belt, Avengers: Endgame is still predicted to have the biggest weekend opener of all time, both domestically and internationally.

Deadline is also reporting that Endgame has earned over $305 million overseas. A large chunk of that hefty number is coming from the China market, which opened the movie on Wednesday. The country brought in $153 million for the latest Avengers flick.

Projections for Endgame originally predicted the film would make $295 million in its opening domestic weekend and $695 million for its tenure in U.S. theaters. These projections estimated Endgame wouldn’t reach the success of Black Panther in the United States, which brought in just over $700 million last year.

With Endgame’s massive Thursday success, it’s more than likely the film will be able to takedown Black Panther as numbers continue to roll in for the weekend.

No film has ever earned over $300 million in its opening weekend in the United States, but with Endgame earning 20 percent of that in just its Thursday previews, it’s looking like anything is possible. Infinity War has the biggest opening weekend in the U.S. with $257 million, making it one of six films to cross the $200 million threshold in the country.

The question on everyone’s mind is if Endgame can dethrone the highest box office earner of all time, Avatar. The James Cameron film stands strong with over $2.7 billion worldwide and has held on to that record for a decade. Domestically, The Force Awakens holds the No. 1 spot with $936 million, which might be a tough feat for Endgame to overcome. Moviegoers who watch Endgame more than once could play a deciding factor in pushing the MCU film to the top.